More than half of all the most important trend videos offering mental health advice on Tiktok Contains a disinformation, revealed an investigation by the goalkeeper.
People are more and more Turning to social media for mental health support, but research has revealed that many influencers peddled a disinformation, including poorly used therapeutic language, “rapid” solutions and false affirmations.
Those looking for help are faced with dubious advice, such as eating an orange in the shower to reduce anxiety; the promotion of supplements with a limited evidence to relieve anxiety, such as saffron, magnesium glycinate and sacred basil; Methods to cure trauma in an hour; And advice presenting normal emotional experiences as a sign of borderline personality disorder or abuse.
The deputies and experts said that the results that the social media platforms were riddled with unnecessary, harmful and sometimes dangerous advice were “overwhelming” and “concerning”, and urged the government to strengthen the regulations to protect the public from the propagation of disinformation.
The Guardian took the 100 best videos published under the hashtag #mentalhealthtips on Tiktok and shared them with psychologists, psychiatrists and university experts, who looked at if the articles contained a disinformation.
Experts have established that 52 out of 100 videos offering advice on the treatment of trauma, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression and serious mental illness contained a certain disinformation, and that many others were vague or useless.
David Okai, a neuropsychiatrist and researcher in psychological medicine at the King’s College in London, who reviewed the videos linked to anxiety and depression, said that some articles have poorly used therapeutic language, for example using well-being, anxiety and interchangeable mental disorders, “what can lead to confusion Mental really involves, “he said.
Many videos have offered general advice based on close personal experience and anecdotal evidence, which “may not be universally applicable,” he added.
The articles reflected to what extent short sound extracts and that attract attention can sometimes eclipse the most nuanced realities of qualified therapeutic work “on social networks. Videos have also overestimated therapy.” Although there are solid evidence supporting the efficiency of therapy, it is important to underline that it is not magical, a rapid solution or a unique solution. “
Dan Poulter, former Minister of Health and Psychiatrist of the NHS, who reviewed videos on serious mental illness, said that some “pathologize daily experiences and emotions, suggesting that they are equivalent to a diagnosis of serious mental illness”.
“This provides disinformation to impressable people and can also trivialize the life experiences of people living with serious mental illnesses.”
Amber Johnston, an accredited psychologist from the British Psychological Society who reviewed trauma videos, said that if most of the videos contained a nugget of truth, they tended to generate too much while minimizing the complexity of post-traumatic stress disorder or symptoms of trauma.
“Each video is guilty of suggesting that everyone has the same SSPT experience with similar symptoms that can easily be explained in a 30 -second coil. The truth is that the SSPT and the symptoms of trauma are very individual experiences that cannot be compared between people and need a clinician trained and accredited to help a person to understand the individual nature of their distress, “she said.
“Tiktok propagates disinformation by suggesting that there are secret advice and truths that can really worsen a spectator, as a failure, when these advice does not simply heal.”
Tiktok said videos had been withdrawn if they discouraged people from asking for medical support or promoting dangerous treatments. When people in the United Kingdom seek terms related to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, autism or post-traumatic stress disorder, they are also directed to NHS information.
Chi Onwurah, a Labor MP, said the technology committee she chaired was investigating disinformation on social networks. “Important concerns” have been raised in the survey of the effectiveness of the online security law in “the fight against false and / or harmful content online, and the algorithms that recommend it,” she said.
“It has been found that the content recommendation systems used by platforms such as Tiktok amplify potentially harmful disinformation, such as this misleading or false mental health,” she added. “There is clearly an urgent need to respond to gaps in AOS to ensure that it can protect public security of the public and their health.”
Liberal Democratic MP Victoria Collins agreed that the conclusions were “overwhelming” and urged the government to act to protect people from “harmful disinformation”.
Paulette Hamilton, the labor deputy who chairs the selective health and social care committee, said that disinformation of mental health on social networks was “worrying”. “These” advice “on social networks should not be invoked in place of professional support and properly qualified,” she said.
Professor Bernadka Dubicka, the online security manager of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said that although social media could increase awareness, it was important that people could access up -to -date health information and based on evidence from sources of trust. Mental disease could only be diagnosed by a “complete evaluation of a qualified mental health professional”, she added.
A Tiktok spokesperson said: “Tiktok is a place where millions of people are expressed, come to share their authentic mental health trips and find a support community. There are clear limits to the methodology of this study, which opposes this free expression and suggests that people should not be allowed to share their own stories.
“We work proactively with health experts in the world Health Organization and NHS to promote reliable information on our platform and delete 98% of harmful disinformation before it is reported to us. »»
A government spokesperson said ministers “took measures to reduce the impact of the harmful content of disinformation and online disinformation” thanks to the online security law, which forces platforms to attack this material if it was illegal or harmful for children.